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Friday, September 23, 2011

Avoiding Weekend Struggles

In my opinion, Friday is one of the best days of the week. It always feels like no matter what happens I can handle it. Why? Because it is Friday! If you survive Friday you have made it to the weekend which is my favorite part of any week. Friday may be the doorway to the weekend, however it is not as carefree as it is cracked up to be!

How can I better prepare my weekends for a healthier but relaxed approach? The weekends are veg time or really busy and stressful. We tend to eat out junk on the weekends.

I really struggle to stay on plan during the weekends. I hope that this is not a surprise to you, because I have tried to be honest about this constant struggle. I even changed my weigh in day to Saturday, because I have had such a problem with weekends! Read more about how I am Changing It Up.

I might be alone in this, but I feel like I have earned the right to enjoy my weekend. Is anyone else with me!? However, I believe that we need to consider the consequences of completely letting go of the Weight Watchers plan and binge eating, because we "deserve it". Weight Watchers teaches us to make lifestyle changes and that includes what we eat on the weekends. Do you trust the Weight Watchers plan enough to follow it every day of the week?

The way I see it, each of us are going to do one of three things with our weekends: #1 stay on plan, #2 follow a relaxed version of the plan and #3 throw the plan out the window and start again on Monday. I am not saying that one choice is better than the other. However, I believe that you need to know what version you are choosing to follow each weekend, so that you are prepared.

#1: Stay on Plan
You know the Weight Watchers plan and what it requires. If you have the discipline to stick to the plan, even on the weekend do it!! I have so much respect for those of you who can do this.

#2: Follow a Relaxed Version of the Plan
To me, this is the perfect happy medium. You have worked too hard during the week to undo all of it in one weekend. However, you have worked hard and might just need a break. That’s okay! Don’t throw the entire plan out at once. Maybe you can decide not to do part of the plan, but stick to the rest of it.

For example: Go out to eat and choose someone on the menu that might be higher in PointsPlus value, but make sure that you count your PointsPlus. See! You do not have to relax everything you have learned at once! Be careful not to throw too much away at the same time otherwise it might start looking like #3.

#3: Throw the Plan out the Window and Start again on Monday
The thing that scares me most about choice #3 is that I know how much damage I can do in two days. I know how easy it can be to NOT start again on Monday. If you choose #3, please do so with caution. Make sure that you have saved up your weekly PointsPlus allowance to compensate for your over eating. I hope that some of the principles that Weight Watchers has taught you will influence the choices you make on the weekend even if you are not following the plan exactly.

What number are you going to choose this weekend?

I am going to choose #2 and follow a more relaxed version of the plan this weekend. I am going to track what I eat even if I go overboard, but allow myself to freedom to use my weekly PointsPlus allowance. On Saturday, we have an event at church and I do not know what kind of food they will be serving, so I will bring a snack for myself. On Sunday, Jon is going to make his famous Chinese food and I want to be able to enjoy more of it then I normally do when I am on plan.

It did not take very long for me to come up with this plan. The best part is that I made this plan during my normal week! When the weekend arrives I do not have to work at planning what I am going to do, because I already did it earlier in the week. Now I just relax and enjoy my weekend!

Remember

Please let me know what number you choose and why! On Monday, we can review our weekend and see how it went!

3 comments:

While we aren't on Weight Watchers, My Sailor and I supplement our weekend eating by going to the YMCA together and working out. His Navy experience kicks my butt and he has fun teaching me too. We do our own work outs as well, but usually it allows us to do 1 "whatever you want" meal. (Though we usually find that, after we work out, we want to keep up the healthy choices!)At my peak of weight loss, I'd go to Disneyland on the weekends. Temptation abounds, right? But I sort of did a #2 option. I would allow myself 1 sweet treat - whatever I wanted, but I could only have 1. That gave me time to think about it, savor it, and save something for "next time".(not to mention Disneyland days averaged 5 miles walking)

Up until a couple of weeks ago, I was a #2 plan kind of girl. And for quite a while it worked for me. But in the past 6 months I found I couldn't really get away with it anymore. The price on the scale was just too high to pay and I was tired of started every week off in a hole. So I've recently made a decision to redifine my weekends.

I have my meeting on Saturday morning, but instead of going out to a big breakfast with my friends and indulging all throughout the day, I'm now going on a big hike after my meeting, eating on plan through the day and saving up for for a splurge for dinner. Sunday morning...I'm back it!

I love that WW allows us the freedom to change things up and find what works for us. It's the best program (way of life)!!!

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